Pete Carroll says Seahawks' offer to Golden Tate wasn't 'communicated really well'
The Seattle Seahawks lost out on keeping wideout Golden Tate in 2014, but according to coach Pete Carroll, the outcome might have been different if the team’s offer was communicated correctly.
The Seahawks head coach said Tuesday that the franchise wanted to retain its former second-round pick when he hit the open market, but Seattle’s contract terms weren’t properly presented to Tate, who eventually left for the Detroit Lions.
"We did try to bring him back," Carroll said in a conference call with Detroit reporters, via ESPN. "We made an offer that didn't get communicated really well at the time and I think he's a terrific player. I loved him on our team but you can't keep everybody and so during the process of the negotiations, he went elsewhere.
"But our players and our coaches, we think the world of him and he's fun to watch. We watch him every week and we'll have a good time competing against him."
When asked for further clarification, Carroll told reporters to ask Tate’s agent, Todd France.
Tate, who accepted a five-year, $31 million deal from the Lions, called the Seahawks’ offer at the time “laughable.”
On Tuesday, Carroll couldn’t remember the specifics of the Seahawks’ offer but did find it strange when Tate claimed the team never extended him one.
"I don't remember those numbers at the time but I'll just tell you this. There was a time that Golden didn't know that we made him an offer and he thought we didn't and that's because it wasn't communicated," Carroll said. "I just felt bad about that. I don't even know what the numbers were at the time but that wasn't even the point. We were interested in bringing him back and he didn't get that sense from us and I was disappointed in that.”
Tate has flourished with the Lions, finishing with at least 90 catches each of his three seasons in Detroit while eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards twice in that span. Carroll and the Seahawks will get an up-close look at Tate on Saturday during their wild-card game against the Lions.
